Helping The Newspapers

So far today, I've read two, and third may be on the way. I payed for two of them, which is the message of this short post (my reading chair in the sun is a much better place, right now). The Dutch papers have been reporting on a government-sponsored study just released on how the newspaper business could be helped. That's obfuscating, unacceptable passive voice, except that this is Holland and therefore it's implied that the question is whether government should or should not do something. One of the study's recommendations is to consider a tax on internet subscriptions (your connection at home), in order to remind users that the news they're getting that way really isn't free. The revenues would go into an already existing fund with which the government helps maintain diverse and independent news outlets. That the newspapers need help, just about everybody accepts. But it would really be much better if the government stayed out of it, at least with redistributive schemes such as these. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it would be much better if people who appreciate the value of these professional news organizations (on-line or print) would be willing to support those organizations with their paid subscriptions or frequent incidental purchases. Reader contributions only pay part of a paper's bills, but enough of them, as evidence of reader commitment, will also boost advertising sales (probably the main chunk of a paper's income). I could go on and on, talking about this in greater detail (the value of holding a paper newspaper in your hands; the importance for a democracy of having many competing, professional newspaper organizations where stuff gets verified, placed in context) and some day (when it rains) I'm sure I will.